Deceased estate FAQs

We need to know as soon as possible so that we can start to help you through the process. You can notify us in person, by phone, or in writing.

Visit any ANZ branch with the original or certified copies of the Death Certificate and Will (if applicable), or send an original certified copy of these documents to the Deceased Estates Team (see our contact details).

If there is no Will, we may be able to act on the request of the Next of Kin. Alternatively, we may require the Next of Kin to make an application to the Supreme Court for Letters of Administration.

Please contact your local branch with the Death Certificate, and explain to them that a Will has not been located.

We will require Probate or Letters of Administration in the following scenarios:

• A Grant of Probate (if there is a valid Will and the estate is valued at $80,000 or over)
• Letters of Administration (if there isn’t a valid Will and the estate is valued at $50,000 or over).

Please note: Applications for Probate (where there is a Will) or Letters of Administration (no Will) are made through the Supreme Court. The Court’s website will contain information on how to apply. Alternatively, you can seek legal advice through a solicitor or lawyer.

The Death Certificate can usually be obtained from the Registry of Birth, Deaths and Marriages in your State/Territory.

They will be transferred into the name of the surviving joint account holder(s) when we have received a certified copy of the Death Certificate, in accordance with the products terms and conditions.

Our team will send you a letter advising you of the details of any outstanding debts and our requirements for closing the account.

Where possible, we will offset the credit card debt using the funds available from any savings and transaction account in accordance with the product's terms and conditions.

Please note all credit cards associated with the account will be closed. This includes credit cards where there is an additional cardholder.

If you are the Executor or authorised representative of the Estate we will let you know if we are holding any securities, locked boxes or sealed packets in safe custody on behalf of the deceased. To view the contents you must provide the branch with the Death Certificate, proof of authority (such as Will, Probate or Letters of Administration) and identification.

When you have met our requirements and supplied all the correct documentation as outlined in the first letter we send you, anything held in safe custody will be available for you to claim.

As the circumstances of each matter varies considerably, so too will the amount of time taken to settle each deceased Estate. However, the more quickly we receive all the appropriate documentation as per our requirements, the quicker we will be able to process the request.

When we receive all the required documentation, we will finalise the Estate within 10 business days.

The Executor or Administrator is the only person with the legal right to act for the deceased and therefore is the only person to whom funds can be released. Therefore we can only release funds to ‘Estate of’, accounts in the name of the deceased via transfer, or by issuing a cheque made payable to the Estate.

We can release the funds prior to the maturity of the Term Deposit once we have received all the required documentation. All fees and charges will be waived, and all interest accrued up until the date of closure will be paid.

If the term deposit has matured then our system will automatically roll over at the then current interest rate and for the same duration/period of time as the initial deposit.

Your information and that of the deceased person is important and we need to be sure we’re dealing with the right person. ANZ’s CIP is necessary in order to comply with Commonwealth law, and enables an Executor/Administrator/Next of Kin to be identified as a signatory to the deceased’s account in order to close the account(s).

We’re able to pay the funeral bill from the available Estate funds when you provide us with an original invoice.

Only the funeral bill can be paid for directly from the deceased’s account once we have received the original tax invoice from the funeral director.

If you would like to claim for funeral costs that you already paid, we will need the original receipt in addition to the tax invoice in order to reimburse the payment to the person who paid it. If there aren’t enough funds in the account to fully cover the invoice, we will close the account and pay the balance of the account to the funeral director as a part payment. This can be done by visiting an ANZ branch, or by sending the invoice to ANZ Deceased Estates.

No other related expenses such as the wake, headstone or memorial can be paid from the deceased person’s account.

You can reach ANZ Deceased Estates on 1800 237 170. We’re available between 8.00am and 5.30pm AEST/AEDT Monday to Friday. If you need to talk to another team at ANZ, simply contact us.

An ‘Estate of’ account is an account opened by the Executor(s)/Administrator(s)/next of kin in order to collect and deposit the funds from the Estate, disburse required payments and distribute any remaining funds to the beneficiaries. Such an account is generally used to manage the financial affairs of the deceased Estate after the date of death.

‘Estate of’ accounts can be opened at any bank. All Executor(s)/Administrator(s)/next of kin must visit their chosen branch with the Death Certificate and Will (if applicable) and advise the staff that they wish to open an ‘Estate of’ account.

To open an 'Estate of' account, you will be required to provide a Tax File Number (TFN). Please contact the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) for advice on how to apply for a TFN for the Estate.